WATCH: 300 sequel's first trailer reeks of blood and revenge

Warner Bros pictures has released the very first promo of the 300: Rise of an Empire, the sequel to the 2006 blockbuster directed by Zack Snyder.

The footage takes off from the defeat and death of King Leonidas (played by Gerard Butler in the film), who fought with his 300 Spartan soldiers against Persian king Xerxes' huge army at the Battle of Thermopylae.

In the sequel, we see Leonidas's widow Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) heading the Greek army against the mortal-turned-God Xerxes (reprised by Rodrigo Santoro).

In addition, the film features Eva Green playing Artemisia, Xerxes' commander in presumably what is the Battle of Salamis. The film sees a definite shift in the protagonists, who were played by the alpha males in the original, while Rise of an Empire has two women in the lead. It also stars Sullivan Stapleton as the Athenian general Themistocles.

While the trailer of the sequel is as morbid and graphic as 300, the same cannot be said about the grandeur. The film, which has been directed by Noam Murro, releases in March next year.

You can watch the spectacle on the big screen during the release of the Superman flick Man of Steel, which too has been directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Warner Bros.